Nevada Assemblyman Ira Hansen (R-Sparks) has introduced AB 226, which would move the petition deadline for a newly-qualifying party from June to May. Even the existing deadline is constitutionally shaky. In 1992, in Fulani v Lau, a U.S. District Court Judge enjoined the June deadline that existed back then. Afterwards the legislature moved the deadline to July, but years later, they moved it to April.

When the Green Party filed a lawsuit in 2015 against the April deadline, the legislature moved the deadline back to June and the case was dropped.

On February 23, the North Carolina Green and Constitution Parties filed a lawsuit against many aspects of North Carolina’s ballot access laws. North Carolina requires more signatures than any other state for an independent presidential candidate, or the presidential nominee of an unqualified party, to get on the ballot (when the easiest method in each state is compared). Leifert v North Carolina State Board of Elections, m.d., 1:17cv-147. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen, a Bush Jr. appointee.

There are now constitutional ballot access cases filed by minor parties or independent candidates in 17 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

On February 8, an Indiana state trial court ruled that Allen County officials did not break any Indiana election law when they left a candidate on the November 8, 2016 ballot, even though he had died four days before the election. See this story. Roy Buskirk was a Republican Party nominee for county council-at-large, and he was re-elected. Because he had died, the Republican Party was permitted to choose his replacement.